A sun pillar is a vertical shaft of light that can extend upwards from the sun or downwards, usually seen at sunset or sunrise.

A Moab Sunset

Sun pillars form when sunlight reflects off the surfaces of falling ice crystals associated with thin, high-level clouds (like cirrostratus clouds). The hexagonal plate-like ice crystals fall with a horizontal orientation, gently rocking from side to side as they fall. When the sun is low on the horizon, an area of brightness appears in the sky above (or below) the sun as sunlight is reflected off the surfaces of these tipped ice crystals. Thank you, University of Illinois!

Oh..okay! Tks for such a prompt reply! C how powerful that small post from you was!! BTW even Moab was a new word for me, googled n got that! MICROBIOLOGIST?? !! U hold all the possible info stumping me every single time, hv to increase my memory power to remember what u teach ..Lady Dronacharya! Humbly yours-- Lady Eklavya.

yes Anita, We must not tolerate this anymore. I supported her in the non-click posts from B&J, but hey she needs to get a recipe post! A few gorgeous photos will not fool us! dharna karna padega, now where is Pel...

Nirmala, you are so sweet, unlike the two who arrived after Sunita. Not only am I incredibly busy this week, I have work going on in the house and I am helping out at the Book Fair at Medha's school. Add Parent Teacher conferences to the mix for today. Not to mention the cold, made even more intense by lack of doors during the day. Brrr! I wish I had time to write words but you know what they say: a picture paints a thousand words!

Sunita, thanks! It was a gorgeous sight! It was the first sun pillar I have ever seen. I had only heard of them before.

Priyanka, thank you! I took this on my first visit to Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. It set the mood for the rest of the trip.